


The Good Not Done, The Love Not Given

by ChiaRoseKuro



Series: A World of One's Own [27]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Bullying, Character Study, Child Neglect, Drabble, Gen, Introspection, Prompt Fic, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-16 18:13:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19937089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChiaRoseKuro/pseuds/ChiaRoseKuro
Summary: He showers by himself, sleeps in a corner as far away as everyone else can get away from him because he’s not welcome. He’s not welcome in stores, especially not when he’s pranked them to hell and back, and even public places seem like they’re public to all buthim.I’m gonna be the Hokage someday, believe it!Naruto told the class today, and they laughed so loudly that his ears still ring with their mockery.I want people to see me formeburied beneath it all, and not a single person had heard.(before the child of prophecy comes to be, a new end is written to suit a new beginning)





	The Good Not Done, The Love Not Given

**Author's Note:**

> This hadn't started life as an addition to _This One Will_... but in between rounding it off and editing it, the idea wouldn't go away, so here's a companion piece to the first prequel. It's not necessary to read _Nothing More Terrible, Nothing More True_ since they deal with different subject characters, but you might want to read it for entertainment's sake. It'll make more sense when the main story gets written into existence - but until then, you should press the 'back' button now if you're not okay with any of the tagged warnings. They're there for a purpose - because even if the descriptions aren't intentionally triggering, I have a very bad idea of what is 'too much' for the average person.
> 
> Special thanks to [Ely](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliyes) and [Yoshi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoshishisha/) for the Naruto meta discussion allowing me to reconcile Naruto's potential addition to the series, [Kat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat) for suggesting the sprint that gave birth to this, [Eve](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJzw1h5CR-I)'s and [Sou](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtWYu0y_8SM&)'s versions of _Dramaturgy_ for fueling me in the half-hour spent on writing this, Philip Larkin's _Aubade_ for titling this and the prompt 'I hope that what I said hasn't hurt you too much' for being an ironic, malevolent thought throughout the story. If I wasn't following the poetic theme, the story would've been titled 'We Touched Things (They Broke)' but... either way, they both fit a sad tale, so.

* * *

Another class with nobody seated around him, another lunchtime seated alone at the swings. The distant strains of laughter drift along in the wind but, beneath the shade of the tree, there’s only muted sniffles. _It won’t do a thing,_ a hard voice tells Naruto—but sometimes it doesn’t matter how hard it screams, because the pinpricks coalesce into a seething mass of pain.

All the other Academy students with parents or siblings or _someone_ that cares—and then there’s the eye-searing freak, the loud-mouthed dead-last barely even _qualified_ to be called a ninja.

 _Village idiot,_ they hiss behind his back. _Nobody wants you here,_ they spit in his face, unyielding no matter how much he smiles. Naruto’s seen kids of all types being adopted from the orphanage—no matter how much or how little they smile, no matter how clean or dirty they are upon inspection, there is always a place for them.

And for all that he knows crying won’t do a thing, Naruto knows that smiling won’t either. If he’s loud, if he’s quiet, if he’s there or if he’s not—there is no place for an orphan who knows nothing, who gets glares and sneers for reasons he suspects he’ll never know.

It’s not all bad, of course—Naruto’s not entirely alone when there’s old man Teuchi and Jiji around, but they’re not around all the time. All the Academy students have someone who’ll listen to them talk without pause… but old man Teuchi has customers. Jiji’s almost never there, even when Naruto goes to his office like he’s been told he can do.

He showers by himself, sleeps in a corner as far away as everyone else can get away from him because he’s not welcome. He’s not welcome in stores, especially not when he’s pranked them to hell and back, and even public places seem like they’re public to all but _him_.

 _I’m gonna be the Hokage someday, believe it!_ Naruto told the class today, and they laughed so loudly that his ears still ring with their mockery.

 _I want people to see me for **me**_ buried beneath it all, and not a single person had heard.

Maybe someday, someone will—Naruto is nothing if not an optimist, and there’s already two people in the village who don’t automatically turn away when they see him. Maybe he’ll become Hokage and rub it all in their faces, _make_ them see how great he is and that hating him was a mistake…

But right now, with mocking ghosts plaguing his mind and trembling fists clutched around well-worn rope, Naruto grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes around fat tears.

 _I just want to be loved,_ a small voice in the back of his head whispers, but the ghosts crowd it out and like that, lunchtime ends.  
  


* * *

  
It’s not the worst day he’s ever experienced—the first time he’d failed the Academy test and had heard laughter follow him home would probably be it—but Naruto can’t force a smile on his face when he’s handed a pouch of coins and little else. _You’re old enough now,_ the cranky old matron had hissed as soon as he’d stepped through the orphanage door, _and there’s not enough room anymore._

Naruto knows that three children were adopted just yesterday, that there had been no new faces at the tables this morning—

But before he gets a word in edgewise, before he can protest about his clothes or his books or _anything_ that’s his—there’s a door in his face, and Naruto finds himself locked out.

In another world, Naruto makes do with what he has. In another world, he lives a life of instant ramen and rickety walls, broken showers and expired milk. He keeps his smile on his face, sticks it on with sheer willpower until it stays by itself, keeps his head held high until he finds his precious people…

But in this one, with shaking hands clenched around a too-small bag and nowhere to go…

Uzumaki Naruto is eight years old when he’s evicted from the orphanage, the night before the Uchiha Massacre occurs.

In the wake of the Uchiha clan’s eradication, with every available ANBU and jounin enlisted to cover for the depleted police force and to investigate the massacre itself—no guards are stationed around Naruto, and so nobody notices his absence until it is too late.

(but were it not for the chakra beast residing in him, would anyone have ever noticed?)

(were it not for his value to the village… would anyone have even _cared?_ )

**Author's Note:**

> For further author notes and other things related to this fic or series, feel free to check out my [blog](https://chiarosekuro.wordpress.com/). Alternately, potential prompts and other sorts of inspiration can be found on my [Tumblr](https://chroku-n.tumblr.com/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/chroku_n/) if that tickles your fancy instead - or, if you'd like your own shiny new oneshot, you can request one from me [here](https://chiarosekuro.wordpress.com/commissions/).


End file.
